Common Fellowships Portal: PhD and post-doc fellowships in one place
The Common Fellowships Portal (fellowships.gov.in) gathers doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships of several government departments in one place, with an "Am I Eligible?" calculator. The portal says the departments of the Ministry of Science and Technology came together to create it, and the Department of Biotechnology developed it.
What is on the portal?
Doctoral fellowships
For studentships and contingency support to pursue a PhD, with support for 5 years, per the portal. It lists: AICTE, CSIR, DAE/DoS, DBT, DST, ICMR, MoES/MoTA and UGC.
Post-doctoral fellowships
For researchers who already hold a PhD, with fellowship and contingency and/or research grants in basic or applied science. Some schemes aim to bring researchers working abroad back to India. It lists: CSIR, DAE/DoS, DBT, DBT MK Bhan Fellowship, DST, ICMR, MoTA and UGC.
The eligibility calculator
The current official homepage describes an Eligibility Calculator for doctoral and post-doctoral schemes and a Common Fellowship Portal ID (CFPID) for applying to available fellowships through the portal. Its homepage displays 17 doctoral and 15 post-doctoral fellowships. These are directory counts, not counts of calls currently open. We did not submit personal details, generate an eligibility result or create a CFPID. Treat any calculator result as a first filter, not a final eligibility decision.
How to use it well
- Open the doctoral or post-doctoral list that matches your stage.
- Run the calculator with accurate details.
- Open each suggested scheme's own page or notice and check dates, amounts and documents.
- Apply only through the official portal or the scheme's official link. Verify the destination and any fee in the scheme notice before submitting information or paying.
We did not log in or apply. The homepage and calculator directory both loaded in the browser on 23 October 2026, with individual scheme links and CFPID services. This replaces the earlier homepage-access limitation, not the need to verify each current scheme notice.
Frequently asked questions
Is it only for science?
The portal describes it as for doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships of various government departments. Check each scheme's subject scope.
Is there a fee?
The pages we read do not mention one. Check the scheme notice.
What changed since this post?
The official homepage is now readable in the browser, and the calculator directory lists individual schemes under the departments. The portal describes five years of doctoral support, but each scheme's own rules control its duration and eligibility. No login, CFPID creation, eligibility result or application was tested. Fees, current amounts, deadlines and open calls remain unverified for individual schemes; read each scheme's current notice. An old announcement on the homepage is not proof of an open call.
Sources: Common Fellowships Portal, NDTV report, March 2024. Checked 12 October 2026. This is an AiCoN explainer, not a government publication.
Scoped recheck 23 October 2026: checked the official homepage, calculator directory and the dated NDTV launch report. The browser now loads both official pages, so the old homepage-access caveat has been replaced. Added current directory counts and CFPID description without claiming any fellowship is open. No personal information was submitted and no eligibility result, account or application was tested.